Catching up and trying to be "Pinteresting"

Well, here I am again with nothing but time for a few days while I get my other hip replaced...   Pretty much a ditto of Jan 2010 so if you REALLY want to read about it you can go back in my archives...actually it is going better than the other hip did, or at least is, so far !   So I will think positive.  Will be going home in a couple of days and get right back into quilting, because, I can stand at that "job", and that is much more fun than trying to sit on a rear end full of staples ! 

Rylind's first Christmas.... 7 months old

Now to catch you up on the new Grandson... Here is his Christmas picture...  too, too cute, right ?  He is so sweet.    I ( and his parents, I'm sure ) would like to take credit for the photo idea, but we found it on PINTEREST....  I imagine you have heard of it by now.  

 I gotta say, I vainly thought I was clever, but man, if you really want to see clever, just spend some time on Pinterest.  Be careful, it is addicting, but it is SO saving me TONS of paper.   If I saw something I liked online, I would print it out.  Sometimes it was a free pattern or recipe, or often just a picture as I am pretty good at figuring out how to make something crafty, or furniturey or quilty, just from a picture... after all, I am a draftsman.... but these people on Pinterest are genius !     I think I have a Pinterest button on my blog side, feel free to see what I have pinned, and follow me if you like my style,  I would love to follow you too !  After all, if you are reading this blog, we must have similar tastes, right ?   I think the first thing I saw and "pinned" and actually made was the sugar cookies that look like candy corn, and that was back in October.  They were so good, easy and CUTE....  another favorite of mine... and please, if you have an idea of what I can put in there, please let me know....  but for some reason I think this is so cool... Did you know that the top of a Parmesean Cheese ( Kraft) container will fit on a regular  Mason Jar ?    I don't know why that makes my world go around, but it does.    as you can see, it doesn't take much !!! Oh, and another thing I love... I don't know about you, but even though I have real chip clips, I usually don't have them where and when I want them.    I buy lots of office binder clips and are always using them too... not just for chips ( we really don't have that many chip bags sitting around at our house, trust me....) but the office binder clips I just use for SO many things.... ok, I digress...  HERE is the Pinterest tip....   when you get those plastic hangers at the store that have clips on them for slacks or whatever.... well, don't just leave them at the store, take them home and snip off the clips.. they are strong, and make great chip clips.    Like I said, it don't take much to tickle me... but this hint did too !! I was to the point that I would just leave them at the store, but not any more !!!!  

So... enjoy Pinteresting... but don't blame me.... lol...

Ok... I imagine I could find a  pretty quilt picture to post here... I really do have lots to share, lets see what I can find.    .....

oh boy here it is... and it is my favorite this season- but really, you would have to see it in person.   Here it is before it is quilted.  It belongs to my friend and customer Carrie.   She brought it to me to be quilted, and we put it on black minkee, no batting, because she wanted it to be really soft and wrappy and cuddly.    If you were to see these color up closely, it is just stunning.   The black is so black and the reds and greens are SO vibrant.    I quilted it with black thread, in a large overall poinsettia design.  Actually the quilted poinsettias are about the size as the fabric ones.   The back turned out so well, and the stitched poinsettias gave such texture to the minkee.    We will have to get pictures of the finished quilt and post them later.    The top was a kit from Keepsake quilting, I think Carrie used a different green fabric for the stop border.     I loved this quilt so much that I found the fabric and hope to be making my own soon!  and THANKS, Carrie for giving me your scraps...I'll never turn down a good scrap !!

ok...gotta go, the nurses want to have some time with me... they just took away my saline bag so now I am not "tied" to that anymore.   This afternoon it will be walking in the hall... can't wait to get back home and to my quilting !!!

I LOVE MY CUSTOMERS.....

for lots of reasons, here is just a couple of them ....... ! My customer came this morning to pick up her quilt, and brought me 2 boxes of homemade caramel rolls ... they were still warm..... well, there is only one box left now. I also can thank her for helping me get my calcium today, as there is nothing better with a warm, fresh, homemade caramel roll than a cold glass of milk ! Oh.... they were SO delicious !

 

Now for a peak at her quilt..... this is just one corner, but I think she had 20 cross-stitched blocks in this quilt. She wanted an all over quilting design, so that means one color of thread and that means a decision ! Well, this one was easy..... white thread, so it "goes away" and doesn't interfere with the cross-stitching, it just gives the backround some nice texture. Usually I like matching my quilting thread with the fabric color, but quilting white thread over the maroon sashing and borders and the dark green stop border all looked great, and really spread the white throughout the quilt and "tied" it all together. Who says you can't quilt over cross-stitching ? !

Let's give a big Hip Hip Hooray for Piecers and their Caramel Rolls !

Junkfest...

Now, just because this is my second post of the day, don't think this will be a habit...

Junkfest ( one of my favorite events ! ) was a couple weeks ago... and 3 of us peeps went.  I reviewed the some of the rules:

1.  No heels  ( there is a need to be comfortable AND swift... ! )

2. Large Vehicle ( you will probably need the space ! )

3. Only 3 peeps per vehicle  ( more peeps - more vehicles - more room)

4. Leave by 7 am ( or 7 am-ish)

so here we are headed north for the 45 minute drive.  Brenda on the left, Linda on the right.  I'll be the backseat driver...

Made the first stop at the Junk 'n Java house by 8 am....  They have a very nice set up there and lots of neat things ! Between the 2 gray sheds ( which are full of great junk for sale...) is a firepit seating area, all fenced in,  very cozy and cute.  I should have taken a pic of that !    This year I bought a 3 gallon redwing crock here.

We are at the front of the line ( almost !) waiting to get in.  Check out the additional vendors, all the quonsets on the left were full, and all the white tents and others out in the open.  The Junk Fest girls are in a quonset to the right of this photo. 

My son and DIL came too, and brought little Rylind.  He seems pretty impressed by the whole affair !   It was chilly out that morning so he was glad to have his hat on, knitted by his auntie Ariel !

Here are some of the crowd waiting to get in.  Glad I was at the front of the line....but with that comes pressure, you want to be quick so you don't get run over by the eager Junk-finders !   note the ratio of men to women ??

The inside happenings in the Junk Fest quonset.  Rule # 1 here is:  If you see something you like, you had probably better buy it, 'cause it won't be here when you come back for it !   Check out the porch post little seating area there.... I have 3 fully restored posts like this and have a plan for 2 of them.   Any suggestions on what to do with the 3rd ?

My Junk Fest Peeps... Linda & Brenda.  Ready to go again next year, girls ?   I AM !   It was a blast !

Here is an old wood box that I would like to make sometime to my specifications.... I like the style, but would like to use it as a recycling center, and fit several kitchen sized trash bins inside for cans, bottles, etc.... below is another one I like...

That's Linda in front....get out of the way so I can see my bin  (  just kidding......☺)  I really like the color of this one.   I was tempted, but better stick to my guns and build one to fit.

and here is what I ended up with.... my crock, a little nightstand/dresser,  what I thought at first glance was a doll crib, but when I found out it really was a magazine rack, I still wanted it.   It will match a black bookcase I bought here a few years ago ( see an earlier Junkfest post )  and...  I am really excited about this.... the green foldable outdoor table.  It folds up like a tv tray, but it is BIG !   well, not huge, but bigger than a tv tray !  I can just see it on a porch......

Ok... that's my documentary on Junk Fest...    check them out   http://www.junk-fest.com/   They are fun gals with great junk and ideas !

It's Almost October.....

and here is a little early Halloween "candy" to look at:  a new thing... this is a fireplace mantle quilt....

 this is the left side of it, with the owls, cat and ghost sitting on a limb, and the bats hanging from it....

 the middle, with a witch flying in front of the full moon,

and the end of the mantle quilt .. "Trick or Treat", Mr. Bones and of course & JACK !

This looks so cute on a fireplace mantle, but, I thought, I need to find more uses for these stitches !  So, I figured out a way to add a rod pocket to the top, and it can be a window valance.  Also, with a little pattern manipulation I can make it into a table runner with scallops and designs on both sides.... I think I really need to make one of those for myself !

It's time to play Catch Up ! or is it Ketchup ?

ok... I've been awol long enough, and probably like you, can't believe how fast this summer has been flying by. I've been busy with the usual.... family ( a new grandson was added ! ☺ ) and the old one ( 6 ! ) was here for over a month ...having fun with Grandma and Grandpa...taking swimming lessons, sailing with Grandpa..... quilting..... the band..... So now, I intend to get back to blogging, and will share some pics about our adventures.

You may have heard in the news... we have still been having flooding in North Dakota... seems every year now there is a problem, and not only has it been affecting Fargo, ( not so much Grand Forks anymore, because after the 1997 flood, they fixed that ! ) but now Minot and Bismarck, Valley City, not to mention many smaller towns, and Devils Lake, which just keeps rising and when it gets much higher, will find it's own outlet and be disasterous for much of the state. Anyway... this leads into a little event that we put on, our Not so annual USFEST. We have had a couple in the past, up at our other Money Pit ( at my old hometown) where we are fixing up an old 1917 home ( more blogging material......) . Well, in June, we have our annual Missoui River Bluegrass Festival on, where else..... Cross Ranch State Park on the Missouri River. You know, the one Lewis and Clark and .......was it Sea Bisquit ? the dog..... anyway, we are a big Lewis and Clark state... I digress. Well, the Missouri River, being one of the new areas of the state to flood now, was just reaching it's crest when the fesitval was to take place, so therefore, the festival had to be canceled. Well... what to do ? So many of us had taken time off of work to attend, so we still wanted to get together, and started looking around for a centrally located campsite that had openings and would let us jam all nite long. Well, there wasn't too many campgrounds around that weren't flooded, and of course all of them have a noise curfew, so I offered up our little place to have it. We just happen to have put up some full service campsites up there a couple years ago to accommodate all the wind generator workers ( we are now in the middle of a wind farm..... more blogging material for later....) so we had the perfect set up. About the noise ordinance ? Well there isn't one. There are only about 24 people in town and 26 when I and the DH are up there, well, that is an estimate... but we did double the population and made some pretty darn good music ! It was a great time and I hope we can do it again sometime ! !

This is Mel from Canada. He plays some awesome mando, guitar and banjo ! And he has the nicest wife Sheila.

Here are some of my friends from around town. I think we made Bluegrass lovers out of them ! They're asking when the next USFEST will be......One of our small town sunsets...

kind of a dark picture, but here we are jammin' all night long ( gotta love a small town). We put up a canopy to keep the sprinkles out, and of course have to put up the icicle lights for ambiance !

John and Joe.... father and son banjo pickers ! Gotta have a bass player ! we were lucky and had 4 in attendance !

Here we are in the middle of a bluegrass song. I'm the one on the far left - kinda in the backround....to my left are Linda and Terry, members of our band, Spiritwood Creek. You can see the back of another member, Carrie, she's the blonde with the teal dress on... check out the next picture....

Carrie modeling an old dress we found in the house ( it was my parent's home ).. I think it may be my Grandma Johnson's... and is probably from the '40's or 50's. Let me tell you, it is in awesome condition and the style is really cute.. it could be worn to any formal function today and still look in style. I only wish it fit me ! Picture taken inside the house. I am not too attached to the paint color, so it won't be there much longer. The stairway will, however !

ok... that is enough for now... if you have time, do an internet search on the Minot flood, it is just devastating. Minot hometown boy Josh Duhamel ( Vegas, the Transformer movies ) is hosting a benefit there in Sept. It is a Black-eyed Peas concert- he is married to Fergie . Hope it raises LOTS of money for the flood victims !

well... I am off to a Bluegrass festival in Minnesota ( more blogging material ) this weekend.... don't you think that this is all I did this summer.... I had already quilted more quilts by May of this year than I did all of last year ...... and of course, that is more blogging material, yet to come !

have a great weekend everyone !